دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی ترجیحات مصرف کنندگان برای برچسب زدن آلرژن مواد غذایی - NCBI 2017

Abstract

Background: Food allergen labeling is an important tool to reduce risk of exposure and prevent anaphylaxis for individuals with food allergies. Health Canada released a Canadian food allergen labeling regulation (2008) and subsequent update (2012) suggesting that research is needed to guide further iterations of the regulation to improve food allergen labeling and reduce risk of exposure. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to examine consumer preferences in food labeling for allergy avoidance and anaphylaxis prevention. A secondary objective was to identify whether different subgroups within the consumer population emerged. Methods: A discrete choice experiment using a fractional factorial design divided into ten different versions with 18 choice-sets per version was developed to examine consumer preferences for different attributes of food labeling. Results: Three distinct subgroups of Canadian consumers with different allergen considerations and food allergen labeling needs were identified. Overall, preferences for standardized precautionary and safety symbols at little or no increased cost emerged. Conclusion: While three distinct groups with different preferences were identified, in general the results revealed that the current Canadian food allergen labeling regulation can be improved by enforcing the use of standardized precautionary and safety symbols and educating the public on the use of these symbols.

Discussion

This is the first study in Canada to examine consumer preferences regarding food allergen labeling of prepackaged foods using a DCE, one of the most effective methodological techniques, consistent with economic theory. The DCE and LCM account for the heterogeneity of food labeling preferences among Canadian respondents thereby reducing the potential for bias and loss of information related to food labeling regulatory practices.  Overall, the majority of respondents prefer some type of allergen labeling. The use of symbols was the most important food allergen-labeling attribute for those in class 1 (44%) and the use of symbols and a safety statement were equally important to those in class 2 (38%) of respondents, with respondents in both classes preferring both precautionary and safety symbols. Those in class 3 (18%) were essentially indifferent to allergen labeling.

Overall, the second most important food allergen labeling attribute identified was the use of the safety statement “does not contain soy, eggs, fish or shellfish”. Placement of information and the use of precautionary statements were the third and fourth most important attributes. The use of precautionary statements, such as “may contain traces of peanuts” may be preferred the least due to the ambiguity of the statement and the necessity of consumers to use their discretion in choosing or avoiding these products. Different precautionary expressions may be confusing and the level of allergic risk associated with each expression may be deemed unascertainable [30, 31]. Additionally, these statements may be viewed as causing unnecessary diet restrictions as opposed to providing informed food choices [28, 29, 31, 42].